Persistent Clippers Hope To Force Game 7 vs Suns

The Clippers (57-33 SU, 50-38-2 ATS) have been at their best when their backs are against the wall, going 3-0 SU and ATS when facing elimination. LA tries to extend the West final yet again when it hosts Phoenix (62-25, 52-33-2), which has lost 10 of its last 12 road games versus the Clippers.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Clippers opened as home favorites for the second time in the series, but early action on the Suns had flipped Phoenix to one-point road chalk by Tuesday night. The total had also dropped a point from the opener of 216.

Phoenix News & Notes

Coach Monty Williams felt his team lacked intensity after it lost Game 3 last week, and he was singing a similar tune following their defeat in Game 5. Phoenix didn’t match LA’s desperation from the Sportsbook tip, falling behind by 15 points in the first quarter. Even though the Suns rallied to take a one-point lead midway through the third quarter, the amount of energy they expended to come back may have cost them down the stretch.

“We’re trying to close out a series against a team that’s been there before, and they’re going to claw and scratch and do whatever it takes. We have to have that mentality,” Williams told the Arizona Republic. Fortunately for the Suns, they tend to follow up poor efforts with a strong one. Phoenix is 19-7 ATS in its last 26 games following a SU loss, including earlier this series when it gutted out an 84-80 victory in Game 4.

Devin Booker looks like he might finally be getting used to the protective mask he’s been wearing since injuring his nose in Game 2, hitting four of six attempts from behind the arc Monday after missing 11 of 12 threes in the previous two games. Center Deandre Ayton is coming off one of his quietest offensive outings of the playoffs, however, scoring just 10 points in Game 5.

Los Angeles News & Notes

At this point, it might take a stake through the heart to finally finish off the Clippers. LA’s impressive 116-102 victory on Monday moved the Clips to 3-0 SU and ATS when facing elimination in these playoffs, and they’ve gone 4-0 SU and ATS when trailing a series 2-0 or 3-1. If that’s not enough, coach Ty Lue is now 10-2 SU in his career when his team has been on the brink of elimination.

“If they were going to finish this series off, they were going to have to work for it,” Paul George told the LA Times after scoring a career-high 41 points and adding 13 rebounds to help LA improve to 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS since Kawhi Leonard hurt his knee in Round 2. “We weren’t going to back down. We weren’t going to throw in the towel.”

If history is any guide, they won’t throw in the towel tonight either — even with Leonard still sidelined and starting center Ivica Zubac in jeopardy of missing a second straight game with a strained ligament in his knee. Big men DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Morris stepped up big in Zubac’s absence in Game 5, with Cousins scoring 15 points in 11 minutes and Morris hitting eight-of-10 shots for 20 points in the first half alone. LA pushed the Suns around in the paint throughout Monday’s contest, outscoring Phoenix 58-32 near the basket.

Betting Pick: UNDER 215

The first two games at Staples Center in this series went UNDER by a combined 75 points, and we’ll likely see another defensive-minded game with so much on the line.